Schumann: Frauenliebe und Leben - Bernarda Fink, Roger Vignoles

Whether it be in Palermo, where Alessandro Scarlatti was born, or in Rome, where he worked as a composer, the chamber cantata was inextricably linked with the aristocratic salons of the Italian peninsula in the 1680s and 1690s. These pieces, resolutely pastoral in tone, are set in the green landscapes of the Mediterranean basin, which vibrate to the laments of the turtle-dove and the murmur of springs. All nature is invited to share the grief of lovers: Cloris weeps for Fileno, Orpheus for Eurydice, whilst the gods, the spirits, the stars are omnipresent. Scarlatti was the ideal composer to paint this enchanted realm in music.